First Lieutenant Floyd Nathaniel Hass (O-770264) was born September 27, 1921 in Mobridge, Walworth County, South Dakota, to Reverend Nathaniel and Clara Auguste Louise Weiland Hass. His father was a minister in the Congregational Church. Floyd had three brothers and three sisters. He married Peggy Adams, a member of the WACS, on March 19, 1944.

Floyd graduated from Pingree High School in Pingree, North Dakota, and attended Chadron State Teachers College in Chadron, Nebraska, for two years where he was a member of the College Chorus and the Wing Club. He then attended Doane College in Crete, Saline County, Nebraska where he was a member of Delta Pi Sigma fraternity, Phi Delta, Science Club, and Pilgrim Fellowship. He was within one term of graduating when he was called into the Army Air Forces. He trained at Gardner Field, Taft, California (Class 44-C), at Santa Ana, California, and earned his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant at Luke Field, Glendale, Arizona. He was assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron (“Bold Tigers”), 366th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force which eventually flew missions out of the airfield at Asch, Belgium (ALG Y-29).

As the Allies forced the Germans ever eastward, they constructed Advanced Landing Ground Asch (ALG Y-29), five miles east of Genk, Belgium, and three miles from the German border. From Y-29 the P-47 Thunderbolts were used for air support during the Battle of the Rhine and the further advance through Germany. They flew ground support missions in support of Patton’s Third Army, patrolling roads in front of the Allies lines, strafing German military vehicles, and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery, and concentrations of German troops when spotted. The 406th flew bombing and armed recce missions out of Y-29 from November 19, 1944 until April 15, 1945.

1 Lt. Hass became a fighter pilot Ace by shooting down five enemy aircraft in aerial combat in less than 24 hours.

His first came on December 17, 1944 when he was part of a famous mission in which his flight of 12 P-47s stopped a German SS infantry division as it was about to capture a 500,000-gallon American gasoline storage facility during the German Ardennes offensive of 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. The P-47 flight overhead was enough to freeze the SS troops and a Panzer column in their tracks. The 391st FS was then attacked by 40 enemy planes. The squadron jettisoned their bombs and immediately turned into the enemy. After a 30-minute dogfight, three enemy planes were destroyed and one damaged. 1 Lt. Hass was credited with one Me-109 destroyed.

The next day, December 18, 1944, over Cologne, Germany, 1 Lt. Hass shot down four enemy planes making him an Ace in two days of aerial combat. He returned to base with a large hole in his right wing. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously for his actions on this day.

On January 22, 1945, on his 41st mission, 1 Lt. Hass departed ALG Y-29, in P-47D A8- #42-76464 (nicknamed “Peg O’My Heart” after his new wife) on a weather recon mission. It was overcast down to 300 feet. 1 Lt. Hass was last heard talking to the air controller, “I’m at 1,000 feet in solid overcast. I’m going down to find the base.” MACR 15790

On January 22, 1945, 1 Lt. Hass crashed and was killed 10 miles northeast of Malmedy, Belgium, 22 miles east-southeast of Liege, and 35 miles southeast of Y-29. He was found inside American lines near his crashed plane. He was 23 years old and the last pilot of the 391st FS to be killed in action in World War II.

1 Lt. Hass was awarded an honorary Bachelor of Arts degree from Doane College.

He is buried in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Plot F, Row 4, Grave 3, Plombières, Belgium, two miles northwest of Henri-Chapelle, Belgium, and 20 miles east of Liège. This cemetery honors the remains of 7,987 fallen Americans. The graves are placed in arcs across gently sloped lawns. Twelve pairs of columns on the memorial plaza present the names of 450 Americans whose bodies were never found.

A Memorial Plaque honors the 366th Fighter Group "Hun Hunters" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a Memorial Marker to the 366th located in the cemetery of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1 Lt. Hass was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart.

Thank you for your sacrifice and service, 1 Lt. Hass … Rest in Peace.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

SBTSProject/Nebraska

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at roktscientist@hotmail.com … I would be honored to make changes/additions where requested.

Sources:

1. 1930, 1940 Federal Census

2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56281889/floyd_nathaniel-hass

3. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/floyd-nathaniel-hass

4. https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/missing-aircrew-reports/macr-15790.cfm

5. https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/hass%3Dfloyd

6. https://www.abmc.gov/print/certificate/488755

7. https://www.ancestry.com

8. https://newspapers.com

9. Familysearch.org

10. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/82120/

11. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_4.html

12. https://valor.militarytimes.com/

13. http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/366th_Fighter_Group.html

14. https://www.366thgunfighters.org/the-366th-in-ww-ii.html

15. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/366th-fighter-group

16. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/391st-fighter-squadron

17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/391st_Fighter_Squadron#:~:text=The%20391st%20Fighter%20Squadron%20is,the%20United%20States%20Air%20Force.

18. https://www.natotigers.org/tiger-unit/391st-fighter-squadron

19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt

20. Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-406-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

Photo Credits:

ancestry.com, americanairmuseum.org, findagrave.com, laststand.com, militarygraphics.com, pinterest.com, wikipedia.com

Floyd N Hass